A Colorado sheriff is facing life in prison after he was arrested for raping a developmentally disabled woman in his home, then threatening her with life in prison if she told anyone.

Sedgwick County Sheriff Thomas Hanna even gave the woman $60 in exchange for the sex.

He also threw in an extra $20 in her commissary after transporting her to jail, telling her he has “a big heart and wanted to make sure (she) could call her brother,” according to the affidavit.

But he was also sure to tell her to keep her mouth shut about the rape that is said to have taken place on August 10.

“This has to stay between us,” he told her after raping her. “If it don’t, I’m gonna take you to prison for the rest of your life.”

But it was one of his own deputies that sparked the investigation against him, leading to his arrest, according to the Denver Post.

The allegations against Hanna came to the attention of prosecutors and state investigators after one of Hanna’s deputies raised concerns about his interaction with the woman, the affidavit says.

Specifically, the deputy said he found it odd that Hanna was transporting the woman to jail in his personal vehicle, which is against department policy. The deputy said he became more worried when he saw Hanna’s personal truck parked outside the sheriff’s home shortly after Hanna left to take the woman to jail.

The deputy says Hanna’s vehicle was parked outside the home for “at least 20 to 30 minutes,” according to the affidavit. Hanna was moved to the Weld County jail, where he is being held after his arrest on Tuesday.

Hanna, who became sheriff in November 2014, refused a polygraph test, but told investigators he had made a “poor choice” by bringing her to his home, claiming he only did so to allow her to talk to him about sensitive information without anybody in the small town talking about it.

But now everybody in the town of Julesburg, population 1,225, is talking about it.

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Eric McDonoughDecember 2, 2016

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